Quarantined
by Bolero of the Forest
Summary: When my best friend and I went on a mini-vacation to escape work, I never expected this to happen. A sinister plot, an unknown virus, and most of all, me being stuck in the house of what is quite possibly the most attractive man alive. Well, at least it isn't all bad. AU. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

"_Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."_

_-Lemony Snicket_

* * *

_Somewhere in a small, Hyrulian town…_

"Mother, I'm going out to get the mail," a young girl called.

"Alright, dear. I'll be in the kitchen," a woman yelled back.

The girl skipped happily to the mailbox, which she opened and collected the contents of. As she walked back, she sifted through each letter until she came across an odd-looking grey one with no writing on it. _Strange…_Shrugging it off, she dumped the mail onto the sleek white counter.

"Mail's here, Momma," chirped the girl.

"Thanks, dear. Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes." The mother opened the envelopes one by one. _Cable bill, electric bill, and…what's this?_ Her eyes landed on the grey envelope. Opening it, she pulled out a sheet of thick cardstock. On it was a message clipped from old newspaper and magazine headlines: SURPRISE.

Slightly shaken, the woman trashed the envelope and note. Wiping her oddly grimy hands on her apron, she attempted to shrug off a nagging feeling in the back of her mind and continued to make dinner.

* * *

"I can't believe you coerced me into this, Malon," I said.

She scoffed at me with a toss of her fiery red hair. "Normal people take vacations, Zelda. They find it relaxing. Plus, we were both feeling overworked. You said so yourself. Something along the lines of 'We seriously need a break, Mal.' Remember that? You asked, I delivered. You should be thanking me."

She's right of course. We were both pretty sick of working the graveyard shift at a popular fast food chain, Quick Cuccoos. Coming home every morning and smelling like you bathed in day-old French fries is pretty awful.

"But anyway, it's a lovely town. The people there are really nice, and Saria said that you don't even need a car to get anywhere there, since it's so small. And it's only a couple of miles from the beach! Which, by the way, is supposed to be beautiful, and it's a private beach, so no tourists! Our hotel is actually on the beach. It's such a quaint little inn, but it has such a wonderful spa! We can get massages, mani-pedis…"

I smiled weakly. "I don't know, Mal', I mean, I've never even heard of Ardin-"

"Ordon," she corrected.

"Whatever. But this town is so small I'm surprised it has a dot on the map."

She shot me an annoyed glare out of the corner of her blue eye. "Just keep an open mind, Zelda. I've put a lot of thought into this. This place has everything you could think of. Shopping, food, spas, the beach…" she paused to give me a sly look. "Boys…"

"No. Not doing that again, Mal'. You know I'm still not over Ike." I said.

"Ugh… It's been two months Zel'. You need to get over that cheating son-of-a-"

"Malon!"

She rolled her eyes at me. "What I'm trying to say is that you need to get over him, and the only way to do that is to find someone new. And better. And more attractive. And preferably someone who isn't a total douche. You deserve better than him. And who knows, you may just meet someone here. Small town guys are supposed to be sweet."

"Or rednecks," I argued. "Besides, you only say that because Sheik's from a small town."

I heard her scoff, and I practically heard her roll her eyes. We then drifted off into a companionable silence. I contented myself by watching the various scenery roll by the car. The view is mostly dominated by wide, open plains, a corn field or a barn scattered here and there. We passed Lon-Lon Ranch, a humongous dairy farm owned by Malon's father Talon, a couple of hours back. I watched fat ponies and sun-bathing cattle flit past my line of vision as I gazed at the rolling emerald-green hills.

"We'll be passing Chateau Romani soon," Malon commented. Chateau Romani, also owned by Malon's family, was named after her nearly identical cousin Romani. Chateau Romani also owned a very expensive and very exclusive restaurant in Castle Town's East End. Their cheesecake is to die for.

"On the right!" Malon squealed. "That means Ordon's very close! Fifteen minutes, max!"

I looked at the huge farmhouse as we passed it. Why couldn't we have stayed there instead? Wide open pastures, horseback riding, and cheesecake… I sighed as we passed a sign that read: Ordon, Twenty Miles.

The scenery very abruptly changed from farmland to dense woodland. We breezed by Trill's Gasoline and headed down a gravel road.

"Almost there, Zel'! Hey, would you mind getting some stuff at the store while I check us in at the inn? I forgot my toothbrush, and it would be nice if you could get some shampoo. I hate the hotel crap they have."

"Sure, Mal'. Just drop me off when we get to town."

"Thanks Zel'."

As Ordon came into view, I was amazed by what I saw. If you weren't looking, you might've mistaken it for just another patch of trees. The roads and sidewalks (if you could call them that) were all just dirt paths. All the buildings were made of logs, most of them with leaf-green roofs. Some of the buildings were obscured by clusters of trees. One building _was_ a tree. A gigantic, hollowed out redwood with a door. A sign that read "Kokiri Scouts" was in the front. Figures.

I looked up, and there were even tree houses, with suspended walkways and everything. I spotted a partially obscured sign that read "Visitor's Center," so I walked up and grabbed a couple of pamphlets and a map of the town out of the little stand just outside the door. How handy.

Looking at the map, I could see that "Sera's Sundries," a general store, was just down the road. I passed a couple of houses and Kokiri Elementary before I came across the building. It didn't look like the lights were on. That was odd, considering it was only one in the afternoon. On a Monday, no less. Confused, I tried the door. It wouldn't budge. That's odd.

I consulted the map again. I kept going and then made a left at the end of the street to head towards Kokiri Shop. Sounds promising. Now that I paid attention, I noticed that there were no other people on the street. Actually, I hadn't even seen a soul outside at all. It was starting to creep me out. The only noises were that of the forest animals that had taken residence here and the wind through the trees.

I tried the Kokiri Shop door. It also wouldn't budge. Oh crap. I was really freaked out. Relax, Zelda…They were all probably just in the town square celebratingafestival of some kind. That would explain it.

I consulted the map again and headed to the town square, which was also devoid of any life. There was something on the ground over at the edge of the square, though. I walked over to find a lone squirrel. Dead. Oh no. Oh, no, no, no! This was exactly what happened in that horror movie I watched last Thursday! A girl was in some creepy town with no people… If my intuition is correct, a crazy man wielding an axe was just around the corner…

I fingered the pepper spray in my handbag nervously. When I rounded the corner, I saw…nothing. I needed to get out of here. I checked the map again and started on my way out of this crazy town.

As I passed close to a house, I heard a click. The door behind me flew open. An arm reached out and grabbed me roughly. I felt myself being jerked into the building, and the door snapped shut. And then, I did the only thing that I could think of doing. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then my eyes rolled back as I dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

* * *

I hope that you enjoyed the story. I wanted to post it much sooner, but a bunch of stuff came up, and now my computer doesn't have an IP address for some reason (meaning that I can't access the internet on it) so I have to post this on my mother's computer. I know that this chapter is short, and that it was a little rough around the edges, but it always takes a while for me to really get in the zone. So please pardon that. I will be on vacation for about a week, so don't expect updates until around August 10th. I really would appreciate constructive criticism, or even just a review. Flames are also welcome, but I can't guarantee that I won't mention your name... As this is my first multi-chaptered story, advice would be very much appreciated. (And if you liked my writing, feel free to check out my stories on my other profile, airbender552.) Feel free to PM me or email me anytime. Thank you for reading!


	2. Swollen Ankles and Failed Escape Plans

**I am so, so sorry that this took so long you guys! Typically I'm a stickler for deadlines, but after I got back and I tried writing I came out with a bunch of gunk that I couldn't bring myself to post up here. Then school started a little over a week ago, and just... OK, so I don't really have a good excuse. Thank you so much for putting up with me though, and I hope you enjoy this chapter, because it took forever. Thank you so much to all who reviewed! Those really made my day!**

"_Fate is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."_

_-John Lennon_

_Ugh..._ I woke up to the usual thick fog that follows a deep sleep. The bed I was laying on was just so comfortable, I didn't want to open my eyes. It was soft and fluffy, and the blankets were drawn so snugly around me. But for some reason, I didn't remember going to bed. As a matter of fact, I didn't even remember going back to the hotel. So if that was the case, where in Hyrule was I?

I opened my eyes. It took me a while to get adjusted to the bright light pouring in from a window on my right. Straight ahead was a door, and several dressers were pressed against a left wall. The folding doors of a closet were on my right.

I turned my attention to the window. The sun was preparing to set, and the sky was a beautiful golden color.

I rubbed my eyes slowly, sitting up. Stark white sheets pooled around my waist. I tried to remember how I had gotten here, the last vestiges of sleep leaving me. I had been getting some shampoo from Malon. I remembered that. And then... no one had been in town.

I looked out the window again. Not a soul was on the streets. Which brought me to remember how someone had yanked me in here, and I had passed out. They must have carried me to the bed. I looked out the window again and noticed something. The window had been duct taped. All of the cracks were sealed over with strips of silvery duct tape. Was that someone's lame attempt at keeping me in here? Whoever dragged me in here obviously has no experience in kidnapping.

But then...does that mean that I wasn't kidnapped? I don't think that anyone could have a legitimate reason for pulling me inside their house.

I decided to look around the room. I spotted a nightstand beside me with a picture frame on it. It showed a handsome young man with what appeared to be a teenaged girl in pigtails, the man pushing the girl on a swing. They both looked happy. What kind of kidnapper leaves family photos out and about?

Deciding that I'd rather not find out, I tried to get out of bed to my purse, which I had just spotted on an armoire not far away, but was abruptly stopped by a sickening pain in my ankle. I looked down, and sure enough, my extremely swollen now-cankle had achieved a sickly purple color.

Grimacing in disgust, I hobbled to my purse, desperately clutching the wall on the way. I reached for my cell phone, praying to Nayru that it had any battery power left, or even a signal. I gaped at the home screen. 27 MISSED CALLS. What? Twenty-seven? I went to the call log and hit redial.

RIIING...RIIING...

"Zelda!" I heard Malon's worried voice screech. "Thank Farore you're okay! I was so worried! Why didn't you answer my calls? Did you catch it? Oh, Zelda, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault! When I saw the news I just was worried sick! They won't even let me in there and-"

"Malon!" I interrupt. "What in the Sacred Realm are you talking about?" My voice was a harsh whisper. I didn't want whoever was beyond that door to hear me.

"What do you mean what am I talking about?"

"I don't know! Whatever you said about the news and whoever "they" is wouldn't let you in somewhere!"

A pause. "You don't...know?" her voice was timid. "I just heard it on the news. The entire town of Ordon, it's..."

"It's what?" I asked, getting a little impatient.

"Quarantined. It's under quarantine."

"Why? What it for?"

"They don't know. Most of the townspeople have come down with some sort of unknown virus. The CDC just sealed off the area. They won't let me through! I tried to get to you, and I tried explaining but..."

That explained a lot. No one was out on the streets because they were all ill or trying to evade the virus. What that didn't explain was why I was in a stranger's house. "Malon, I want you to listen carefully..."

* * *

After explaining my situation to Malon and instructing her to go back to the hotel to calm down, I hung up my phone. After I got out of this house, I had reasoned with her, I would run out of the town through the woods and walk a mile past the police barricades, where she would then pick me up, and we could leave this wretched place. It seemed simple enough in theory. It was executing it, I knew, that would be the problem.

I heaved a sigh and placed my cell phone in my purse, picking the bag up and swinging it over my shoulder. I attempted crossing the room silently, but I ended up with a soft thumping sound every other step because of my injured ankle. I stopped at the window and tried to pull it up. It wouldn't budge. I yanked up as hard as I could. Nothing. I tried leaning my weight against my left foot and throwing my shoulder into it. Again, nothing. Well, crap.

Deciding that the door was probably my best bet, I hobbled over to it. I hesitated before turning the knob, placing my ear to the door. I heard the faint rumble of someone talking, but it didn't sound like it was coming from anyplace nearby.

I opened the door as quietly as possible, the only sound being the woosh of the air. I padded out into the carpeted hallway, picking a random direction. Silently, I opened doors. I passed another bedroom, a bathroom, and an office before I reached a dead end. Crap!

I turned around to head back the other direction. The dark blue of the hallway walls seemed endless as I tried other doors, each leading to linen closets or storage, and even a laundry room. I paused as I was about to open another door. I could hear noises coming from it. Someone was speaking behind the door, and from the noises that I heard, it sounded like they were coming closer!

Freaking out, I opened the door at the end of the hallway and darted out, ignoring the stabbing pains in my ankle. I was in a big open room. On my right was a fully stocked kitchen, and on my left was a living room which led to...Thank Nayru! The front door!

I was so caught up in the moment that I barely had time to register that the door knob behind me was turning. Thinking quickly, I dove behind a nearby armchair just in time for the door to swing open, and a man to step out. I held my breath as I watched him move to the kitchen before turning away to get something out of the fridge.

This was my chance! On my hands and knees, I crawled quickly and silently the agonizing ten feet to the front door. I was so close! All I had to do was just reach my hand up and-

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

Crap.

* * *

**That was the chapter! What do you think? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? (I could really use some suggestions...) I will try to get the next chapter up ASAP, which means that it will be out in about a week. (For real, this time.) I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review!**

**P.S. Do any of you know some good gluten-free recipes? I just learned that my friend was a celiac.**


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